The next day, we took Jan and Keri to some of our birding "haunts" in the area around Lake Overholser. We found Keri was an excellent spotter--and not just spotting birds. She got us to stop and back up to a hollowed out tree where she'd seen this opossum.

The opossum looked like it had been in the nearby water or in a fight; it did not look like it was having a good day.

Opossum

This red-berried vine was growing on a tree across from the opossum.

We found a Carolina Chickadee that had caught a green caterpillar (with a fly photo-bombing).

I think the fly, now resting on the branch nearby, thought there might be something left for it after the Chickadee finished its meal.

Carolina Chickadee, eating a caterpillar

In one of the little ponds in the area, this Pied-billed Grebe was gliding quietly.

This Great Egret was fishing in the reeds in the next pond.

Cattle Egret

Solitary Sandpiper

Solitary Sandpiper

Solitary Sandpiper, with white eyering

One of two Solitary Sandpipers at the edge of a small pond

The Solitary Sandpipers were in dark shade, but you can see a little more detail in this photo.

Solitary Sandpiper

Solitary Sandpiper

Snowy Egret, in the next pond, showing its yellow foot

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret

Green around the eye of a Great Egret

Snowy Egret, roosting in a tree

Great Egret, roosting

At a "playa" along Mustang Road/Yukon Parkway, we saw some sandpipers.

Sandpipers

Wind-blown Least Sandpiper

Sandpiper

In this photo, you can see the yellow legs of the Least Sandpiper.

Sandpipers

Cattle Egrets

Cattle Egrets

Cattle Egrets

Cattle Egret in flight

More cattle egrets flying

Next we drove over to the Rose Lake area; north of 63rd and Sara Road, we saw a Green Heron on the west side of the road.

In the field on the east side of Sara Road, there were several sandpipers wading in the standing water.

Least Sandpipers

Least Sandpiper

Killdeer

Hawk, one of two we saw flying on the west side of Sara Road

Flying hawk

Least Sandpipers and Killdeer

Killdeer and sandpipers

When we drove back to the intersection, we got some more photos of the Green Heron.

Green Heron

Green Heron

Close-up of the Green Heron

Green Heron, stretching its neck

Green Heron

Green Heron

Green Heron

Green Heron, raising its crest feathers

I missed the action from my side of the car, but the ladies all saw the Green Heron hop toward where a Bullfrog had been resting, scaring the frog into the water.

After leaving the Rose Lake area, we drove over to the north side of Lake Overholser and found this Belted Kingfisher in a tree over the water's edge.

We drove around the west side of Lake Overholser and saw a group of birds on rocks near the shore, including these Forster's Tern and Ring-billed Gull.

Ring-billed Gulls, on the west side of Lake Overholser

Forster's Terns, with gulls in the background

Terns and gulls

Ring-billed Gulls

Ring-billed Gull, getting splashed by the waves at Lake Overholser

Great Egret

Forster's Tern

Terns and gull

Mallards

Male Mallard

American Coot

Next we went to the heron rookery southeast of the lake and saw this immature Red-shouldered Hawk on a fence rail.

At first, we weren't sure what we were seeing, but once we got oriented, we realized we were looking at the back side of an immature Black-crowned Night-Heron in a tree at the heron rookery.

Immature Black-crowned Night-Heron

It looked like one of this bird's eyes might have been injured.

Immature Black-crowned Night-Heron

I got out of the car to take some photos from different angles and realized there were other birds in the trees nearby.

Cattle Egrets

Cattle Egret

Another immature Black-crowned Night-Heron

And another

Cattle Egret

We ended our birding with a last shot of an immmature Black-crowned Night-Heron.